CES 2014: Now You Can Text With Your Appliances

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Next time you text, "Heading home now. What's for dinner?" you might hear back from your fridge instead of your husband. LG announced a new function for its smart appliances at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas this week: HomeChat. With the new service, users will be able to not only monitor and control their appliances, but also communicate (more naturally) with them via text in the free LINE messenger app. And, unlike other smart appliance interactions, you'll be able to text like you would normally talk; the system will be smart enough to understand what you're saying.

HomeChat will work with all compatible LG appliances, and can be used on an Android, iPhone, Windows Mobile, or BlackBerry device, or from a Windows or Apple computer.

Here are some sample scenarios:

Program the Smart Manager with the contents of your fridge, and text to find out if you're out of milk when you're at the grocery store. (Smart Manager can also suggest recipes based on what you have, so you can build your grocery list.)

Got unexpected company coming over? Text your LG robotic vacuum to find out when it cleaned last and ask it to give the living room a once over.

If you're not sure what cycle to launder your new dress on, text your washer for recommendations. If it doesn't have the right cycle installed, it'll suggest one to download.

LINE is available for download now and will soon support HomeChat in English and Korean at inception, with additional languages being added later in 2014.

The Consumer Electronics Show is an annual technology and product showcase in Las Vegas where many of the new appliances and gadgets for the year ahead are debuted.